Catalog
1 Centésimo
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Chile |
|---|---|
| Year | 1960-1963 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | A condor in full flight with wings dramatically spread occupies the central field, depicted in fine relief with detailed feather engraving. The bird faces left with its beak open, talons visible below, and radiating wing feathers rendered with great precision. The legend REPUBLICA DE CHILE curves along the lower periphery in raised Latin characters. A dashed border runs around the entire circumference of the coin, framing the design. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Chile's centésimo was born from a 1960 redenomination that replaced the escudo's predecessor, the peso, at a rate of 100 pesos to 1 escudo — meaning this coin's face value represented what had recently been a full peso. The redenomination was a direct response to chronic inflation that had eroded the peso to near worthlessness over the preceding decade, with annual inflation rates that had exceeded 80% in some years during the 1950s.
Aluminium was chosen purely for cost: striking low-denomination coins in any heavier metal would have made their production cost exceed their face value almost immediately given ongoing inflationary pressure.